Bakugan: ShunxFabia One-Shot
by CarlottaStudios
Summary: Fabia spends the night alone, thinking about her dead fiancé, and about the new object of her affections, Shun. After a while, Shun decides to join her...


Princess Fabia from the planet of Neathia walked out into the palace garden. It was late at night, the moon was full and all of the stars were bright and sparkling against the almost black sky. It was a perfect night for stargazing. But Fabia was too distracted to enjoy the twinkling lights.

She reached a small bridge arching over a river. The princess walked on it until she reached its peak, then she leaned her elbows on the railing and gazed out at the moon. She wasn't really seeing it though. She was somewhere else, deep in her mind, her thoughts circling her like vultures.

For once, Fabia wasn't accompanied by her partner, Araunaut. But it wasn't unusual. Not today, at least. It was now the anniversary of the death of Jin, Fabia's former fiancé. The princess had wanted to be by herself, and who could blame her? Every neathian in the palace knew that it'd be best to leave the princess alone. Also, the brawlers were busy enjoying one of the few days that the war with Gundalia quieted and they could relax. So Fabia was left to reminisce about her dead fiancé in peace. But they didn't know, however, that Fabia wasn't thinking about Jin at all. No; she was actually thinking about somebody else.

Shun had intrigued Fabia ever since she first laid eyes on him. Unlike the other brawlers, he had given her a chance to explain the truth about the gundaliens. And he had believed her. But it was more than that; much more.

Whenever Shun fixed her with his jewel-bright amber eyes, Fabia had the strange feeling as though the Ventus brawler was looking through her, as though he could read her mind. It felt like he could see every one of her thoughts and secrets. When she was with him, Fabia felt naked and exposed.

This kind of feeling would, understandably, scare most people and make them uneasy and uncomfortable around those like Shun. But Fabia wasn't most people. On the contrary, she felt safer around Shun. It was like she had nothing to hide from him, and she liked that. She felt like she could really be herself when he was around, and she liked him for that too.

Also, it wasn't as though he was bad-looking or anything. In fact, Fabia secretly thought that Shun was pretty handsome. More so than probably any neathian man she'd ever met.

The princess suddenly shook her head.

'This is silly.' she thought. 'It's the anniversary of Jin's death and all I can think about is Shun.'

"Fabia?"

The girl turned and her green eyes widened in surprise. Shun himself was walking towards her. The pale moonlight lightened his silhouette and illuminated his orange-brown eyes. He had on the tiniest smile on his face, and looked relaxed and at ease. Once he was standing next to her, the princess softly let out her breath.

"Shun!" she said once she'd regained her ability to speak. "What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to paper over the slightly awkward silence.

Shun placed his hands on the bridge railing. His eyes hadn't left her face for one moment.

"I was looking for you," he said, "almost all day, in fact."

Fabia blinked.

"R-Really?" she asked. "Why?"

He looked down, almost bashfully.

"I noticed that you weren't around this morning," he explained. "So I went to see your sister, Serena, and asked her what might be going on. She told me about the anniversary, and that you asked to be left alone."

"And yet you came to find me." said the princess.

Shun nodded.

"Why?"

He didn't say anything for a minute, just turned and looked at her. His smile had faded, and Fabia felt as though he were probing through her thoughts with his eyes, searching for something she couldn't find a name to. She didn't mind it too much, though. She was used to him giving her that look.

"I know how hard it is to lose somebody you love. And I also know how much harder it is to go through it alone. I don't think you should have to." he finally said.

Fabia was taken aback, not just by the words, but mostly by the voice in which Shun had said them. He sounded so warm and sincere, so gentle and comforting. She'd never heard him speak like that to anyone, and felt her face redden a bit.

"Oh…thank you." she said, looking elsewhere.

Even with her face turned away, she could almost feel his smile. They just stood in silence for several minutes, with Shun looking at the moon and Fabia looking down at the river, occasionally glancing at her companion.

Fabia was thinking about how, of all of the brawlers, Shun had noticed her absence. How he'd taken the time to find out what was going on, and then spend the day looking for her; all to help her deal with the loss of Jin. She was flattered, but at the same time a little bit dismayed.

The truth was she didn't need to deal with Jin's loss, not anymore at least. It didn't bother her as much everyone thought it did. But then again, she'd never told anyone that. She never said that it didn't bother her anymore, or why. Not even Araunaut knew the whole truth about Fabia and Jin. And Shun, whom Fabia thought could know everything about her with a single glance, didn't know.

And she suddenly wanted to tell him. She couldn't really say why she wanted that, but she did.

"Shun…can I tell you something?" she asked, standing up straighter and turning to him.

"Of course." said the ninja, looking towards Fabia again. "You can tell me anything."

And Fabia could tell that he meant it, in every sense of the phrase. She took a deep breath, then continued:

"Before I say anything, though, I want you to promise to keep it secret."

Shun raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised. Fabia closed her eyes.

"I've never told this to anyone. Not even Araunaut. It's been really hard keeping it to myself this whole time."

"And…you trust me enough to tell me this secret?" Shun asked.

"…Yes, I do." said Fabia, nodding. "But just promise me you won't tell anyone. Alright?" she asked him, "not even Dan or the others. I…I want it to be between us."

"Don't worry, Fabia." said Shun. "I won't tell a soul."

Fabia hesitated, then took a deep breath, and began:

"Okay. The first thing you need to know is, and this is no secret, that my marriage with Jin wasn't my own choice."

"So you and Jin were betrothed? In an arranged marriage?" asked Shun.

She nodded.

"The previous queen of Neathia, my mother, had died giving birth to me. So my sister Serena took the throne. However, she wasn't interested in marriage, and made that very clear to any suitors asking for her hand. After a while, they gave up and turned to me, even though I was just a child. At the time, I was already friends with Jin, so Serena arranged our betrothal so that the suitors would pack up and go home. That way, I wouldn't have to marry somebody I didn't know and love."

Shun could see in Fabia's eyes that there was more to the story than that. His intuition told him so, and it had never failed him.

"There was a catch, wasn't there?" he asked.

The girl nodded again, her face turned away, looking sadder than Shun could remember seeing her.

"The thing was…Jin was my very best friend. We knew each other since childhood and I could always confide in him. I loved him like a brother, but not like a fiancé. I wasn't interested in him…not romantically. I think that maybe he loved me in that way, but I didn't. I just saw him as a friend. My sister assured me that I would grow to love him, but…" she trailed off.

"You never did." Shun finished, guessing the rest.

Fabia nodded again, and Shun noticed that her eyes were brimming with tears unshed. She blinked rapidly to keep from crying.

"I felt so guilty, because everyone thought that I saw him as my soul mate. So I had to play along with that act, because I didn't to tell anyone the truth about us. And then…"

At that, her voice choked up a bit, and Shun put an arm around her shoulders to try to comfort her. Fabia breathed deeply, a wet, shuddering sigh, then wiped her eyes. After that, her voice was steady again.

"And then he was killed in battle with the gundaliens. Everyone thinks I lost the love of my life that day, but instead, I lost a best friend." she finished.

"But that's just as terrible, isn't it?" Shun asked.

Fabia nodded, silent. Shun hadn't stepped away, so she tilted her head and rested it on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a bit, watching the moonlight on the river, not really knowing what to say. Finally, it was Shun who spoke:

"Thanks for telling me, Fabia."

Fabia smiled.

"Thanks for coming to find me, Shun."

At that, the neathian turned and hugged him. Shun tensed for a moment, but then he relaxed, slipping his arms around Fabia's waist and holding her to him. Her heartbeat was right against his. His pulse fluttered, then settled to the rhythm of hers. He buried his face in her dark blue hair.

The princess heard Shun let out a contented sigh, causing her to smile even more than before. Then, something struck her.

"Shun?" she asked, pulling away and breaking the embrace. "Have you ever lost someone close to you?"

Shun blinked, then frowned.

"Why do you ask? he said, and his voice had become more guarded than before, not by much, but enough to notice.

Fabia winced. His eyes had hardened like his voice. He was going back to his usual routine (probably from ninja training): hiding his emotions and replacing them with cold aloofness.

'Oh, nice work Fabia,' the princess scolded herself.

Shun noticed the wince, and got a hold of himself.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's…It's just a very personal thing."

He breathed deeply, closing his eyes. Fabia thought it was to put the break on his feelings again. But when he opened his eyes, she saw a deep sadness within them, one that rivaled the one she'd felt about Jin.

"I did lose someone," he said, and he looked away, "my mother."

Fabia gasped. She hadn't expected this. Shun continued, looking at the moon again.

"It was about two years ago. My mom had gotten really sick. She was in the hospital for a long time. I was so upset; I wanted to stop playing Bakugan for good."

"And then?" Fabia said.

She didn't wasn't to press him, but she wanted to hear the rest. Shun sighed.

"And then…I went to see her again one day…she was barely breathing, but still smiling, still happy to see me…then she closed her eyes…and she was gone…right in front of my eyes."

Fabia felt tears prickling her eyes, then falling out silently. It was one thing to lose your best friend during a war, but another to watch your mother die in front of you, and be unable to do anything to save her. Fabia couldn't even begin to imagine how the horror and devastation Shun must have felt.

"Shun…I'm so sorry…" Fabia said, her voice strangely steady, not betraying the fact she was crying.

The ninja couldn't look at her. Fabia was surprised to see his own eyes were watery from the memory. A single tear escaped, landing with a soft "pling" in the river below. Then he wiped his eyes. But when he spoke, his voice didn't shake.

"After she died, it was like everything good in the world had died with her. I didn't want to play Bakugan, I didn't want to see my friends; It's almost like I wanted to stay miserable, because I had lost my mom."

Fabia could perfectly understand that. When she had lost Jin, after rescuing Araunaut, she'd locked herself in her room for days. Then, as the pain numbed, it was as though she forgot how to be happy again, how to feel anything other than paralyzing numbness.

"So that's why you're often so cold and emotionless, because you'd lost your mother?"

She clapped a hand over her mouth, wanting to take back what she'd said for fear of insulting Shun. The ninja hadn't reacted, apart from raising his head a bit.

"I mean," Fabia said, "you're so guarded, and the way you talked about your mother, I just thought that…"

Shun didn't give her time to finish. He turned swiftly and brought her face up to his. Faba's eyes shot wide open as she felt Shun's mouth against hers, cutting her off. Usually, the princess didn't like being interrupted. However, most interruptions didn't send her heart into overdrive, but in a good way.

The kiss lasted a good minute, before Shun pulled away, but only by a few centimetres. Fabia blinked open her eyes, her nose touching Shun's.

"Did that seem so cold and emotionless to you?" Shun asked, grinning.

Fabia slowly shook her head, her face much pinker than it had been a minute ago.

"I didn't mean it like that…" she tried to say, but Shun cut her off.

"No, Fabia, you're right." he said. "I can be a bit cold and aloof. But trust me when I say that I've gotten better at being more open over the years. I still feel sad about my mom, but not enough to forget myself; especially not when I'm with you."

The princess could only blink in surprise. She'd wanted to tell Shun about how she felt about him, about how she could herself with him, to say all of the things she hadn't before dreamed of saying to him. But now she couldn't words to say them in, or her voice to say the words. She could only murmur:

"Shun…"

Then she decided that she'd better do something before this silence became awkward. So she kissed him.

His lips were warm and soft against hers. Both of his hands cupped her face and he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. Her hands, flat against his chest, snaked their way up to his shoulders. When the need for air finally became too great, they separated, but wrapped their arms around each other in a warm embrace.

"I think I'm in love with you, Shun." Fabia whispered.

"I feel the same way, princess." Shun whispered back. "Except that I know that I'm in love with you."


End file.
